VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta -  Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) thanked local farmers for their hard work in maintaining domestic rice supplies in the midst of the El Nino phenomenon.

"Thanks to our farmers' hard work, supplies in markets and rice stocks in our warehouses remain sufficient in facing the dry season. Thank you to all farmers in Indonesia," Jokowi said on his Instagram account in Jakarta on Sunday.

He stated that many parts of the world, including Indonesia, are facing the El Nino phenomena which have seriously affected the water supplies and agricultural productivity.

However, amid the threat of this climate pattern, Indonesian agriculture remains productive, Jokowi added.

Speaking after inspecting State Logistics Agency (Bulog's) warehouses two weeks ago, he said that Indonesia's national rice stocks for this month reached a total of two million tons, higher than around 1.2 million tons in normal situations.

At the 2023 National Farmer's Day, President Jokowi posted an image showing various illustrations of agricultural activities in Indonesia, such as farmers harvesting grain and fruit, farmers picking tea shoots, farmers working on rice fields, and the use of advanced technology in the agricultural ecosystem.

The image also includes the phrase Happy National Farmer's Day.

According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, the National Farmer's Day which is celebrated every September 24, begins with the publication of Basic Agrarian Law on September 24, 1960. Thus, today Indonesia celebrated 63 years of farmers' struggle. (Antaranews)